Table Manners, a British Comedy in Beijing
By Nelly De Navia
Theatre lovers in Beijing were treated for three nights to the hilarious British comedy, Table Manners, the first part of Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests Trilogy. Beijing Playhouse, the first English-language theatre company, staged this hilarious play that's full of lust, hysteria and exasperation; it made the audience explode in laughter. The story is about an extended family of two sisters and an older brother and their respective partners. Annie (Kylie Purcell) is the youngest of the three and still lives at home looking after their sick mother; a character that we never see. Her older brother Reg (Clark Boswell) and his wife Sarah (Stephanie Anderson) arrive to help take care of the mother while Annie takes a well-deserved rest. What they don't know is that she is planning a romantic escapade with Norman (Abdiel LeRoy), who is married to her sister Ruth (Katjia Sassi-Bucsit) who is always busy with work and has no time for her husband. Oh! And let's not forget Tom (Reinaldo Vazquez) Annie's supposed beau who is a vet and prefers dealing with animals than people. The story spins around Norman and his necessity to be needed. The play is full of characters that despise each other, judge each other but can't get enough of each other either. This hilarious show was exceptionally directed by David Peck, and it was very refreshing to see actors from different nationalities (German, British, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico) all blending and working together to bring to life this great comedy. Table Manners makes us question how much we really know about others and how honest we are, even with ourselves!
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